Departure
by Iloveplotbunnies
Summary: Out of all the things Lisbon had thought they'd do in their relationship of five years; going on a vacation together had never once entered her mind. TL/RJ. Sequel to Informant.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **Departure

**Disclaimer: **I'm pretty sure I don't own _The Mentalist_.

**Rating: **M

**Summary:** Out of all the things Lisbon had thought they'd do in their relationship of five years; going on a vacation together had never once entered her mind. TL/RJ. Sequel to Informant.

This story follows the alternate universe set up in "Sanctuary" and "Informant", so if you haven't read those…you probably should first! I also should explain that this story does involve a Lisbon/Red John pairing, and that the M rating reflects all of the sexual situations (in later chapters) rather than the violence.

With all of that being said, enjoy!

* * *

**1—**

With her cellphone in one hand and her notepad in the other, Teresa Lisbon left her office and stepped past the various working agents within the crowded bullpen. Her team; Agents Grace Van Pelt, Wayne Rigsby and Kimball Cho remained hard at work behind their paperwork cluttered desks, while Consultant Patrick Jane lazed around on his brown leather couch with his eyes closed. If it had been any other day, Lisbon would have rolled her eyes and commented on his perpetual laziness, but she knew he'd probably feel bad enough for the next two weeks when her boyfriend—Ross Crawford or Red John, the infamous Californian serial killer—"kidnapped" her for their first vacation together. Instead, she just shook her head and turned to address her team.

"Cho, Rigsby." Lisbon addressed and both men glanced up from their desks. "Go out and question Charles' fiancée, Katherine Arnett. Something doesn't quite fit up with her story from yesterday." Both nodded and stood up from their desks, probably more than ready to go out onto the field again. "Van Pelt." Lisbon turned to glance at her younger agent, who looked back with an optimistic expression. "I need you to check into the financials of Charles' cousin, Nancy Joanne." Van Pelt grimaced in noticeable dislike, but Lisbon ignored it.

"Did your Confidential Informant give up any juicy tidbits, Lisbon?" Jane asked her from his couch. Lisbon turned around to eye him and the giant smile he wore, which irritated the hell out of her. "Are we going somewhere, Lisbon?"

Lisbon nodded with a sigh. "The CI heard screams down at 3574 Convened Drive. He or she thinks something bad is taking place down there, so I need to go check it out." Jane continued to stare up at her from his couch.

"By yourself?" Jane asked. "Is that a good idea?" He almost sounded concerned, but she didn't put it past him just to fake it, so he could try and get out of the office.

"I have a gun, Jane." Lisbon told him, as she flashed him her gun. "Half of the time, these calls are pranks. I'm only checking on the offhand that this tip actually awards us with something useful." She watched him sit up on his couch.

"I'm coming with you."

Lisbon blinked in faux surprise. Even though Ross had wanted the consultant to come, she had to ask herself what Jane could (or would) do if anything _did _go wrong. Jane didn't have a gun and although the running of his mouth had saved them on occasion, she doubted it would save him from Ross's various "friends". Jane completely moved off his couch and she frowned. Taking Jane with her hadn't felt right, mainly because she didn't want him hurt or worse, dead. Dating a serial killer or not, Jane was still her friend and she did honestly care for him.

"If the call was a prank," Jane continued brightly, "we can go and get food afterwards." Lisbon shook her head again; Jane and his stomach. "Shall we go, Lisbon?" She gave him a nod and without another word, they both exited the CBI.

* * *

Almost an hour later, she and Jane quietly entered into the massive abandoned warehouse on Convened Drive. Jane moved at a slower pace behind her, while she retrieved her gun from her holster. She had considered herself pretty fortunate on the ride over, especially as Jane had remained somewhat quiet on asking why she had been late that morning to work. Lisbon hoped his quietness had been because of the pointless of his question, and not because he had figured anything out from her posture.

"Did the Confidential Informant tell you exactly where he or she heard the massive screaming?" She heard him ask from behind her and she rolled her eyes; she hadn't even said massive screaming, she had just said screaming. "All I see are the three ghosts of foreclosure: rats, abandoned machines, and graffiti." Lisbon did a brief scan of the room with her eyes; both she and Jane stood in the center, surrounded by various machines, which had probably seen better days. Shattered glass pooled beneath their feet from most likely partying teenagers, who had thought that an abandoned building was the best place for underage drinking. She heard Jane move behind her and she turned to stare at him, as he crotched down to stare at something beneath him.

"What are you doing, Jane?" Lisbon questioned him and Jane pointed at the ground.

"It's blood." Lisbon gave an inaudible sigh at the droplet of blood beneath Jane's finger; it looked pretty fresh, but that didn't mean anything at all. The ground around the blood didn't look too disturbed, which quite possibly meant that somebody had placed the blood droplet there to make them both stay.

"Stay here." Lisbon ordered, as she started toward the large cluster of rusted machines with her gun pointed in front of her. She honestly hoped Jane would heed her instructions, because Ross had been constantly looking for reasons to get rid of the consultant. Last night though, Ross had promised her that he wouldn't hurt either one of them in this staged kidnapping. She couldn't help and worry about what would happen, if Jane stumbled upon her—willingly—leaving with one of Red John's lackeys (or even Red John, himself).

Lisbon stepped behind one of the machines, when suddenly, a hand clasped over her mouth and she felt a sharp burst of pain against the small of her back. In shock, her gun tumbled from her hands with a loud clatter on the floor and whoever had their hand over her mouth, kicked the service weapon away from them both; the weapon flew under one of the various machines.

"Lisbon? Are you okay?" She heard Jane ask. Warm breath descended upon her earlobe, which caused a shiver to dance up her spine.

"You'll tell him yes, Agent Lisbon." The voice, who wasn't Ross, replied. "Or we'll kill him." Lisbon stiffened. Would the man really kill Jane? She felt him push whatever he held into her back again and she realized Ross's word or not, she had to play along. Her mouth became uncovered.

"I'm fine, Jane!" Lisbon tried to keep her voice steady, dare the "Great Lie Detector" detect some nervousness in her voice. "I just saw a giant rat." She rolled her eyes at herself; she doubted he'd believe that lie, especially considering the amount of mice they found with the CBI, but it apparently worked. Jane hadn't felt the need to stumble upon the "kidnapping" taking place, which made her worry somewhat less.

"Now, Agent Lisbon." The voice continued on softly. "Red John would like a word with you." And she wanted a word with him too; the fact that he had sent one of his lackeys to kidnap her, and he obviously hadn't warned said lackey to play nice, irritated her. Her captor rammed something into her back again and with an aggravated hiss, she threw her elbow back, which collided into his abdomen. "You bitch!" Lisbon heard him splutter into her ear, before the man shoved her forward and she completely lost her balance.

Lisbon's head and body hit the cement floor with a thud; she groaned, as she felt her captor stick his hands into her pockets. Moments later, she heard something—_my cellphone?_—being thrown across the room and clatter on the ground. She felt her body being lifted hastily and moved, as the semi-darkness of the warehouse faded into shadowed daylight. Her eyes blinked at the sudden blurriness of her vision. Where was she? Where were they going?

"Fucking bitch hit me." Lisbon heard through the ringing in her ears. "I hope he teaches her a…respect." The words faded in and out of her attention, before she felt herself being placed on something soft. Her head pounded and her stomach felt queasy, probably due to the massive headache coming her way. _I hope I don't have a concussion_, she thought, as her vision and concentration kept coming and going. "Take her to... I'll take care of the…one." In her semi-daze, dread filled Lisbon; what if Ross hadn't told his friend not to kill Jane? She opened her mouth to speak out, when she heard a second voice.

"You didn't hurt her, did you?" Again, Lisbon couldn't place the voice.

"Nah," the first voice lied, "she got me good though." Lisbon almost wanted to get him again, just out of spite.

"Good." The second voice replied, he sounded almost relieved. "If you had, Red John would not be pleased." Lisbon allowed her shaky nerves to ease slightly; Ross had warned them against hurting her and the lackey, it seemed to her, had only made a slight error in his judgment. She closed her eyes, as she couldn't follow their conversation any longer. Through the continued daze and the pounding headache, she vaguely heard something slam shut and the roar of an engine in the near distance.

_To be continued..._


	2. Chapter 2

**Title: **Departure

**Disclaimer: **It's seriously not mine.

Thanks to Loes-chan, tromana, loveconquersallxxx, and watchyouwalk for the lovely reviews!

* * *

**2-**

Lisbon awoke to the feel of something soft brushing across her forehead with a slight grimace; her head, even with her eyes closed, still pounded but at least the nauseated feeling had somewhat faded away. She groggily opened her eyes to see Ross leaning over her with a smile on his sun-kissed face, which caused a warm and tingly feeling to spread throughout her entire body.

His smile, she noticed, was slightly blurry—even though she could still pinpoint his chocolate brown eyes.

"Good evening, my love." She felt his lips press against hers softly and she sighed into the comfort of his lips. Even though they had kissed that morning (if it was the same day), she still missed his lips against hers and his touch against her skin. She watched him pull away. "If I had known you were going to sleep this much, I wouldn't have tried lacing your coffee this morning." She threw him a glare, which only made him laugh harder; it hadn't been her fault that her head had been slammed into the concrete floor. "Glaring doesn't get you anywhere with me, Teresa." She closed her eyes and ignored him. "How are you feeling?" Lisbon nearly groaned; she knew he meant well, but she didn't exactly want him knowing about her headache. _If he finds out how I got it_, she thought_, he's going to get angry. _Ross, as much as Lisbon loved and cared about him, had always had quite the temper on him. "We weren't supposed to stop tonight, but the driver said you were ill."

"I'm fine." Lisbon brushed his concern aside, as she opened her eyes again. "I could use some aspirin though." Ross eyed her in concern. "I have a minor headache." Nothing about her headache was _minor_, but he didn't need to know that. Ross nodded and she watched him disappear from her line of sight, before he returned with a bottle of water and two white pills in his hand. She accepted them quietly.

"Is the headache work related?" Ross asked and Lisbon nodded, while she pulled herself up to rest her back and head against the headboard. "The lights aren't too bright, are they?" It was then, she chose to glance around the room—it was dimly lit, well-decorated for a small bedroom with its single bed, dark bathroom and small television.

"No." Lisbon answered, before she glanced back at him. "How long have you been here?" Ross glanced down at his watch, a birthday gift that she had purchased for him last year. She couldn't help the small smile at his slightly messy brunette hair, when he finally glanced at her again.

"I met you past the state line," Ross stated, "so…four or five hours." Lisbon inclined her head. "We're in Nevada right now, but we'll be leaving again soon."

"Are we staying here all night?" Lisbon questioned. Ross nodded with a smile.

"It's not recommended to fly when one of your party is ill, Teresa." Ross explained, gently. "We'll stay here for the night and leave tomorrow morning. One night isn't going to change our plans." Lisbon shifted slightly, when she suddenly winced. Her headache apparently was going to stop anytime soon, even with the aspirin in her system. "Do you need a doctor?" Ross glanced at her in concern and she silently groaned; she had wished that he hadn't seen that, but the man was watching closely.

"A doctor wouldn't help." Lisbon said. "It's just a headache; I've dealt with worst before. Trust me." And she had, especially with being a senior agent of the Serious Crimes Unit.

"I know you have," Ross agreed and she grimaced; she knew what was coming next, "but, I would feel much better if a doctor checked you out."

Lisbon stared at him. She didn't want to see a doctor and he knew she wasn't a fan of them either, yet he _still _wanted her to be checked out? "Ross, I'm _fine_. It's just a headache, which will go away with sleep."

"You've slept a lot, dear." Ross stated and she continued to grimace. "If you won't let me find a doctor, let me take a look at you then."

"You're not a doctor." Lisbon pointed out. Fair compromise or not, her answer was still going to be no. "What if I need a tetanus shot?" Ross chuckled. "What? It's a fair question!"

"Did you cut yourself?" Ross asked. Lisbon shook her head. "Then, I think you'll live without getting a tetanus shot." Lisbon eyed him. "Teresa, I'm a you-know-what. I can heal wounds, I know which vital veins to cut," she pulled a face. She wished he wouldn't say that, "and I can certainly tell the signs of a small concussion, which is what you have." How did he know that? Her disorientation wasn't _that _bad, was it? Lisbon frowned. "Why don't you tell me what happened, hm?" She felt his hand on her leg.

"I fell," she lied, "the kidnapping startled me." Which it had, but she hadn't fallen because of that—completely.

"You're lying," he said after a moment of staring at her in silence, "tell me what happened?"

Lisbon sighed. "Ross, it's not important…"

"You're my girlfriend, Teresa." Ross gave, as he crossed his arms against his chest. "It is important, because you are important to me. If one of my men hurt you, they deserve to be punished." Lisbon said nothing, although she wanted to. She didn't want Ross to kill anybody, especially as they were supposed to be on vacation from everything and everyone. "Teresa, did they hurt you?" She shot a quick glance down at her hands in her lap. Lisbon knew she couldn't lie again to him. Ross knew her too well and he would read through her lie, which would cause an even larger fight.

"It was an accident, Ross." Lisbon stated, softly and she watched him shoot up from the bed, his hand already on his cellphone. "Don't do this, we're on vaca…"

"He hurt you!" Ross exclaimed. "I told them not to hurt you or Mr. Jane and they disobeyed my orders." Ross held his phone to his ear. "…I want the two who kidnapped Agent Lisbon on the phone, now!"

Lisbon threw her covers aside. "Don't do this." He ignored her. "Ross! It was a mistake."

Ross yanked the phone from his ear. "My men gave you a _concussion_, Teresa. I told them specifically not to hurt you and they did." Lisbon opened her mouth to argue with him, when he continued on. "In my line of work, silly mistakes will get you get killed or worse." She shivered slightly at his intense gaze. "And we both know we can't risk the alternatives of those silly little mistakes."

She did. As much as she tried not to think about "the alternatives", she had always realized that if anybody caught Ross—the CBI, the FBI, or even Jane—not only would her and Ross's relationship end, but her career would come to a screeching halt also.

"…which one of you gave her a concussion?" Ross asked, before he went silent. Lisbon continued to frown.

"Ross, please." Lisbon tried to reason again. "Listen to me."

He pulled his phone down from his ear again. "You don't listen to me about your job, Teresa. So, leave me alone to do mine, all right?" Lisbon narrowed her eyes; he had absolutely no right to say she didn't listen, especially after she had listened to his plans for her spontaneous kidnapping. "…nothing happened? What about to Mr. Jane?" He was back on the phone and Lisbon found herself listening in. If Ross's men had apparently disobeyed the orders to hurt her, had they disobeyed the orders to hurt Jane? "…he better be fine! I know I'm going to kill you both, you…" She couldn't take it anymore, even though she felt relieved that Jane had gotten off better than she had.

Lisbon stood from the bed and grabbed his phone from him. "I'm not letting you do this, Ross." Lisbon stated softly. She closed his flip phone shut. "We're on vacation. Defend my honor elsewhere, okay?" If her boyfriend hadn't been a serial killer, the notion of "defending her honor" with a death threat, probably would have been seen as more of a "sweet" than a serious gesture.

"Give me my phone." Ross said. Lisbon shook her head; she wasn't going to give him his phone back. "They need to be…"

"Accidents happen." Lisbon repeated in annoyance. She understood his fear about silly little mistakes, but things happened. "Don't do this." Ross stepped closer to her, until they were mere inches apart from one another. Lisbon tensed, as he brushed his fingers across her cheek. She absolutely hated fighting with Ross, mainly because neither of them liked to play fair and his fingers upon her skin just wasn't fair.

"You have no idea what you're dealing with…"

"Using the Red John threat wore off after the first five times, Ross." Lisbon told him, as she crossed her arms against her chest. "Serial killer or not; don't kill them. They do have families."

"So do you." Ross stated. He briefly touched her wrist and she stepped backwards. She didn't want him seducing her for the phone; she didn't want him getting his way _again_.

"A concussion isn't going to kill me."

"It could have." Ross pointed out. "If you had fallen on one of the machines, or had gotten shot…"

"A concussion is nothing," Lisbon answered mildly, "especially compared to everything else that you've done over the years."

"I've done?" Ross fired back. "I've done absolutely nothing to you!"

"You've killed multiple individuals!" Lisbon threw in anger. Ross frowned. "You had me shot!" She turned her back on him in anger. "Why not just kill me now, Ross? This 'kidnapping' would help you along so much, wouldn't it?" She clenched her fists together in anger. Ross said nothing, as she heard him move behind her. The man was probably going for his phone, which angered her even more. "I've got my back turned for you, would you like me on my knees? I'm sure it'll make your job much easier."

"I'll be back later." She heard him say.

Lisbon narrowed her eyes, although he couldn't see it. "Can't say I'm surprised, Ross. You never could finish what you start." Fights occurred so often enough within their relationship, to where they always concluded with _somebody _leaving; whether it was her (she would avoid him for days after, until she decided to swallow her pride and make up) or him (she'd find a dead body—or two—in his wake), and neither one of them ever stayed long enough to come to a doable solution.

"And you, Teresa," Ross replied quietly, "have no idea how much the implication of _me_ murdering you angers me." Lisbon heard the door open and slam shut again, before she turned around to stare at his vacant space. She had hit low, yes, but Ross wasn't entirely blameless either. He knew how she felt about his "organization", and yet he continued to kill without listening or thinking about the consequences for them _both_. Hadn't he realized yet that he wasn't the only one playing the game?

Lisbon collapsed on top of the bed in a huff. She didn't see him again for the rest of the night.

* * *

The next morning, the loud buzzing of an alarm clock woke her from her disjointed sleep. Lisbon groaned, as she reached out with one of her hands and tried to hit the alarm clock snooze button. Without even glancing at the clock, she knew it was early and all she wanted to do was go back to sleep. However, the day (and Ross) apparently had other ideas.

"You've got to get up, Teresa." She heard Ross's soft voice in her ear, which irritated her. How he could even try and think that she'd be any less angry after last night's argument was honestly beyond her. "We have a long day ahead of us." She felt him move his touch across her bare arm, which made her half smile into her pillow. "Come on."

"Leave me alone." Lisbon muttered, the words muted by the pillow. "I'm trying to sleep." She lazily reached out and batted his hand away, even though she had been secretly enjoying it.

"You don't look like you got any sleep."

Lisbon opened her eyes and twisted herself around in the bed to stare up at him. Ross looked completely refreshed and well rested, which made her wonder how she had slept through his shower. "I _would _have gotten plenty of sleep, if somebody hadn't decided avoiding conflict was the best idea." Ross stared down at her with a frown. "I would have also gotten plenty of sleep, if I hadn't worried that you were out there…"

"My job is none of your concern, Teresa." Ross stated. "Get up and get dressed." She hoped he didn't think that she could take a tone with her and get away with it, because they would be utterly ridiculous.

"To hell it isn't." Lisbon answered him in a snarl. "We're supposed to be on _vacation_, Ross. We're supposed to be getting to know each other better. We're supposed to be dealing with all of these _issues_ we've got between us, and yet you're going out and _killing _people?" She slowly sat up in the bed to stare at him. "This vacation shouldn't include a dead body or a death threat on my behalf; it should involve us both and _only _us both." Lisbon sighed at his expressionless face. "I could be with my unit right now, Ross. I could be solving a case and soothing my agents' fears that I'm _not _dead or worse, but instead, you've got me for _two _weeks."

"Unless you want to stay here," Ross continued on, "you need to get up now." Lisbon said nothing. "I'm trying here, Teresa. I really am. You're not making this easy for me, though."

"I'm supposed to make this _easy _for you?" Lisbon asked, incredulously. "You got me out of the state of California and we're together. You've accomplished the impossible, yet you're still challenging me?" She rolled her eyes. Besides not exactly being cheerful at seven in the morning, she just wasn't going to take any of his crap. "I think I'll move when I feel like it, okay?"

"Don't make me carry you."

"I still have my gun." She warned and he grinned. "It's not funny!"

"You're unarmed, my dear." Ross answered with a grin. "Now, go get dressed or I'll dress you myself." She made no movement to move and he swept his gaze across her body—yes, she had somehow managed to find her luggage and slip into a pair of short shorts and an old sports jersey—"or I'll undress you myself."

Lisbon scoffed. "I'd like to see you try." If the man was smart, he wouldn't try it (or her).

Ross's bright grin became a sly one, as he moved over to her and somehow managed to slip his hand up her shirt; his palm—warm—against her flat stomach. "Don't tempt me, Teresa." He pushed her backwards and she glared up at him and the ceiling, as her back hit the bed again. "You should know I always win."

"Is that so?" She questioned. Ross nodded. "You're getting nowhere with me, Ross. I'm still angry with you."

Ross lost his smile. "I let it go; maybe you should do the same."

"I can't just walk outside and kill someone to forget, Ross." Lisbon responded. "You should know it doesn't work that way." He said nothing, while she moved off the bed. "I'll go get dressed now, okay?"

Twenty minutes and a fresh change of clothes later had her in a much better mood, as she accepted the cup of coffee from Ross, who sat on the edge of the bed. Lisbon took a testing sip, before she grabbed his hand and joined him on the bed.

"I'm sorry, Teresa." Ross said, after a few moments of silence. "I shouldn't have lost my temper last night. If you want to call off this vacation, I would completely understand."

"It's okay." Lisbon stated. "And I'm still here, aren't I?" She gave him a small smile while he squeezed her hand, lightly. "If you're apologizing to me, I should apologize to you also. I shouldn't have said what I did, and I'm sorry." She stared at him. "I got carried away, and I realize that throwing past mistakes in our faces does absolutely nothing." Ross nodded.

"Regardless of what career path I'm in; I want you to know that I would never hurt you." Ross softly responded. She knew that and her words had been said at the heat of the moment. "I love you so much, hurting you would destroy me." She felt him rub circles into her hand.

"I know," was all she said, "I love you too." And she truly did. Fights or not fights, she had stuck with him for five years and their relationship, while challenging and complicated, was something definitely worth fighting for.

"We should get going then." Ross replied to her with a smile. "We have a bit of a drive and a fight ahead of us, especially if we want to get to our mystery location before three." Lisbon hated surprises, but she trusted him not to bring them anywhere _too _crazy. Ross stood from the bed and pulled her along with him. "Are you still angry with me?"

"I don't know," Lisbon answered in a playful sigh, "ask me after you've kissed me good morning?" She gave him a slight grin and he pressed his lips against hers.

"Angry now?" He asked, after he had pulled away from her.

"I'm suddenly becoming less and less angry," she replied coyly, "but I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to make up later?"

"That's the best part of our little fights; the aftermath," Ross reassured her in a laugh and she couldn't help but agree. "Let's go." And without hesitation, she took his hand in her own again before they continued out the door and into the dim sunlight.


	3. Chapter 3

**Title: **Departure

**Disclaimer: **I honestly own nothing, except my newly gained knowledge of palm trees…

Thanks to Loes-chan, watchyouwalk, loveconquersallxxx, LAurore, and tromana for the reviews! I honestly can't say thank you enough!

With all of that being said, it's vacation time! :)

* * *

"We're not staying in an airport hangar, are we?" Lisbon teasingly asked Ross, as she stepped from the passenger seat of his car to eye the large, light gray airport hangar in front of them both. She heard Ross open his car door, before he laughed softly.

"Remember all of those candles I told you about?" Ross asked and Lisbon threw him a glance over the roof of his car. "I have enough candles to light up the entire hangar for about a week or so." She shook her head and nearly rolled her eyes. In the past two hours that they had both been in the car, she had quickly learned that neither one of them could go through normal transportation channels, hence the private airport hangar in the middle of nowhere. "You'll love this method of transportation, trust me."

Lisbon raised her eyebrows. Usually, any form of transportation—car, bus, train, or plane—lsettled fine with her and while Ross seemed awfully confident that the pilot wouldn't turn them both in, she still felt weary. Ross probably had prepared for the worst, but it didn't mean that she couldn't worry about being discovered. "I take it we're not driving?"

"You would be correct." Ross replied. "I had thought about driving, as I've always wanted to go on a road trip, but it would mean hiding you in the trunk." She heard the joking tone in his voice, but she knew he wasn't joking. In her job, if somebody went missing, the first thing she would have done was check the airports and various other methods of transportation for said person. Lisbon grimaced in his direction; she wasn't going to get in his trunk, no matter how much he asked her to. "You see, this is exactly why I decided that we would fly."

"I'm still surprised that you would trust any pilot to take us anywhere." Lisbon stated and Ross shrugged, still with a smile across his face.

"I trust this pilot with my life." Ross answered. Lisbon nodded, although she thought that was odd. Ross had never been a completely trusting person. "Could you get the bags from the trunk? I'm going to unlock the hangar and make sure we're not staying there for the next two weeks." He probably already knew they wouldn't be sticking around, but he had always enjoyed making her worry. Lisbon turned on her heels and moved toward the trunk of the vehicle, which Ross had unlocked earlier, and quickly removed, the various bags and boxes from the tight space. She hadn't been able to ask Ross that morning what half of those boxes had been for, but she had a feeling while lifting them from the trunk and settling them at her feet, that they were full of unlit candles.

She chuckled, as she felt Ross's arms wrap around her waist. "You must be one lucky woman, Teresa," she heard his voice whisper into her ear, "because we're not staying in the hangar for two weeks." She nearly rolled her eyes. "I'll grab the bags, if you'll take the boxes?" Lisbon nodded in consent and he let her go, before they both bent over to pick up the various boxes and bags from the ground. Ross motioned her to follow him and in silence, both of them approached the hangar.

Lisbon glanced around the (now) well-lit space, before she spotted the small passenger plane in the middle of the sparsely decorated hangar. She turned to glance at Ross in mild surprise, who stared at the plane with a slight smile on his face. Although, she knew next to nothing about small planes, she figured that if he had a smile on his face; he knew that the plane _wouldn't _somehow crash and burn, while in middle of their flight.

"This is your plane, isn't it?" Lisbon asked him.

"It is." Ross answered. "Are you surprised?" Honestly, Lisbon was. She had known that Ross had money, but she had never thought he'd use the money to buy a plane. "I'm going to take your lack of an answer as a form of surprise. You should know though, I only bought this plane for business." He had his back turned toward her and she eyed the plane; it was white, nothing impressive, but she didn't know many people (excluding Walter Mashburn) who actually owned a private airplane. "Do you like it?"

"As long as it gets us to our location safely and our pilot knows how to fly, I think I'll appreciate it." Ross laughed and she frowned; she didn't see what was so funny about being concerned for their lives. "I'm being serious, Ross."

"I know you are, dear." Ross answered. "I promise we'll be fine, okay?" Lisbon trusted him, but she still didn't like the idea of using a noncommercial airplane. "If you really don't trust my word, you can speak with the pilot."

"I can?" Ross turned to face her.

"Of course you can." Ross responded, calmly. "If I didn't let you talk to the pilot, we'd probably be in the hangar for the next two weeks." Lisbon scowled at his comment; she had valid fears about flying anywhere, especially in such a small plane. "We should go ahead and put our luggage in the back, before you speak to the pilot though. I know he's rather impatient to take us away, and the sooner we leave, the better off we are. I know we're out of California, but your co-workers are intelligent." Lisbon agreed with his statement, feeling a significant amount of pride that he had just acknowledged the intelligence level of her unit...even if they still couldn't catch him. "If they've followed me to Nevada before, they'll follow me again and I'm not taking any risks." She watched him open the rear doors to the plane, before he began to place the bags away. Slowly, she approached him. "I'm looking forward to this vacation with you, Teresa. It's been a long time since I've been on a vacation and I want everything to be enjoyable."

"How long ago has it been?"

He had his back turned to her again, as he took the boxes from her. "The last vacation I've taken was when I was a small child." Lisbon heard the grimace in his voice and she frowned. Even though he had never specifically talked about it with her, she had always had a strong feeling that his childhood hadn't been a good one. Ross, while she knew he trusted her, had never said much about his family, aside from the fact he had two younger brothers and an older sister.

Lisbon had never been much of a hugger, but she wrapped her arms around Ross in a comforting hug anyway. He said nothing, as he returned the hug.

"Should we go meet the pilot?" Ross questioned, after a few moments of silence. Lisbon nodded and he pulled away from her with a small smile. "I think you'll like him." Lisbon felt Ross take her hand, as he moved them both toward the front of the plane. She watched, while he opened the pilot door and motioned for her to crawl inside the cockpit. "Go ahead." Lisbon eyed him in confusion. Weren't they supposed to be sitting in the back? Ross laughed. "It's okay. The pilot agreed that you should see the inside of the cockpit."

Lisbon said nothing, as she lifted herself into the cockpit and crawled into the co-pilot's seat. She glanced around the inside of the cockpit, seeing the various buttons and knobs of the machine, as Ross joined her in the pilot's seat.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Ross asked her and she nodded; it truly was. "It's an even more impressive sight in the air, which you'll get to see shortly."

"Where's the pilot?" Lisbon hadn't seen anybody but themselves, and unless the pilot was hiding in the back of the plane (which was possible); she doubted there actually was a pilot.

Ross threw her a grin. "Welcome to Red United." He cleared his throat, before he continued to speak. "I will be our pilot for this wonderful journey."

Lisbon couldn't help and stare at him in surprise. She should have seen that one coming, but she hadn't even known that Ross had a pilot's license. "You're kidding, right?"

"I've been a pilot for two years now, Teresa." Ross explained, softly, as he fiddled with the controls and Lisbon continued to eye him. Why hadn't he told her? Obtaining a pilot's license was probably a huge deal and the fact he hadn't said anything to her, especially when he knew he could have, stung slightly.

"Why didn't you tell me? We could have celebrated?" She tried to keep the hurt from her voice.

Ross glanced at her from the controls. "I was going to surprise you with a vacation, but things kept happening." Lisbon frowned; Ross knew her job kept her busy and he knew her career was important to her. Her job had been one of the various reasons on why the idea of taking any vacation had been a bad idea, especially with all of the criminals and the fact she had to keep her eye on Jane. "I know you're busy. I know you're saving the streets from evil and I've never complained about that, because it makes you happy and I love to see you happy." She felt guilty. Of course, she loved her job, but she loved him also. If he had just told her to take a vacation, she would have found the time for it. "I don't want you feeling bad, Teresa. We're going on a vacation now, and that's all that matters."

"Do you have the registration papers?" Lisbon questioned, out of curiosity. She heard Ross sigh. Way off duty or not, she still had to obey the law and if Ross didn't have any official documentation paperwork, she wouldn't fly with him and they'd spend the rest of that vacation not flying.

"Of course I do, Agent." Ross responded, smoothly. "I didn't have the time to get them notarized or laminated though; I hope that's not illegal." He shifted slightly in his seat, before she had an entire lap of documentation papers to look through. Lisbon quickly glanced through them all, noticing that everything (except for the plane documentation paperwork) had the same year on them: 2010. "Does everything check out?" Nothing looked fraudulent, even if Ross had never lied to her before, but she hoped that he understood her reasoning for checking. "I'm glad. Out of everything I could be arrested for, I don't want to be arrested for falsifying paperwork." Lisbon nearly snorted; it would have been highly ironic to catch him on falsifying paperwork, especially after everything else he got away with. "If there's nothing else, I think we should leave." She nodded in agreement, even with a frown across her face. "Is something wrong?"

"Could they find us?"

"It's always possible, but it's highly unlikely." Ross answered, as he continued to fiddle with the controls. "They have enough dummy leads that could lead them to Canada or to Mexico, depending on which clues they pick up on." Lisbon raised her eyebrows in response. She seriously hoped he wasn't trying to send her team out of the country to look for her. "I'm sure you're curious on what clues I've given them, but you know I won't tell you. It's safer for you not to know." As much as she hated being kept in the dark, she completely understood. When the team finally found her, they'd ask tons of questions and if anything suspicious popped in her words, they'd have her attached to a lie detector. "Any other questions?"

"Am I co-piloting the plane?"

Ross chuckled. "I think I value our lives, Teresa." She took that as a huge no. "If you knew how to fly my plane, I might be inclined to say yes, only so we could attempt to make-up." He sent her a small smile, which made her shake her head. "However, neither of us would look too highly upon that, considering we both know I rarely trust anything automated." He honestly didn't. Years ago, she had bought him a GPS system and if she hadn't been in the car with him, he would end up taking roads that didn't exist. "I didn't mean to upset you by not telling you." She knew he hadn't. "At the time I had gotten the license, our relationship hadn't been faring so well and I thought you were..."

"No." Lisbon interrupted hastily, with a frown. She had only considered leaving him once in five years, and that had only been because she had figured out he was Red John. "I've been here for five years; I honestly hope you don't think you're getting rid of me that easily."

"I didn't." Ross admitted, quietly. "I was fearful of mentioning that I wanted to take a vacation with you, even if it was only a weekend away, because I didn't want you to think I was trying to force you to stay with me." Lisbon took Ross's callused hand in her own hand. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about it…" Out of the both of them, Ross probably had the most issues with their relationship. He knew she loved him, but he had problems accepting that. The vacation and time with her, she hoped, would make him realize that he did deserve happiness like everybody else.

"It's not a huge deal," Lisbon responded, softly. "We're both going on a vacation now, and that's all that matters." Ross said nothing and she felt the need to prompt him into action. "Pilot, whenever you're ready." She gave his hand a soft squeeze, before he pulled his hand from hers and he started the engine.

* * *

"Florida, you brought us to Florida?" Lisbon asked Ross, as he swiftly maneuvered the car through the heavy afternoon traffic of Miami, Florida. "I don't even know what to say." Out of all the places Lisbon had thought they were going, she hadn't even thought of Florida.

"Thank you is an acceptable response, Teresa." Ross responded with a laugh. "You said you've never been to Florida, so here we are. You're in Florida now, properly titled the Sunshine State."

"I do see plenty of sunshine." Lisbon replied, while she glanced outside the passenger side window. "I also see plenty of palm trees. I'm guessing you've been to Florida before, then?"

"On business?" Ross questioned and Lisbon nodded. "Not usually. I tend to stay on the west coast for business, as clients don't usually want to pay me X amount of money to fly to them." Lisbon said nothing and he continued on. "I only know my information on Florida through countless internet searches and I've read plenty of books on the subject." Ross loved to read. "I'm also wondering where you thought we were originally going, considering you wouldn't let me sneak you out of the country in the trunk of my car."

Lisbon shrugged. "I didn't think we were going to Florida. I thought you would take us further up north or further down south..."

"Florida is technically down south." Ross interrupted her. "I told you that I wanted to walk on beaches with you, which is what we can do. Florida offers plenty of fun and..." It was her turn to interrupt.

"What are you, Ross?" Lisbon questioned. "A travel agent?" She watched his lips quirk into a smile. "I wouldn't think you'd bring us here, unless you had everything planned out." Besides loving to read, Ross enjoyed to plan, which had always amused her. "I do hope you have a reasonable explanation for why I've got a tan when I come back to California."

"Oh, I do." Ross replied and she raised her eyebrows. "I don't know if I should be telling you this though..."

"I think you should be telling me this, Ross, because it's about me." Lisbon answered.

"Fair enough." Ross said and she continued to eye him, as he fell completely silent for a few moments. "I was just going to email everybody at the CBI that I have a new torture technique for stubborn senior agents." Lisbon shook her head in disbelief. Obviously, he couldn't tell her without a joke. "I'd force you to stand out in the blazing sun for six hours straight," she narrowed her eyes, she wasn't impressed with his joke, "you'd be naked, of course, but how else do you expect me to admire your beautful body?" Before she could blink, she watched him glance in her direction and eye her body with a soft smile.

"You're not even funny, just so you know." Lisbon said with a scowl.

"You don't approve of my idea?" Ross asked; she could hear the playful pout in his voice. "I was going to take pictures and everything. I have my ways in the CBI system and I'm sure that..."

"If you send anybody, and I mean, _anybody_, pictures of me," Lisbon threatened, "you'll be getting nothing for a week." Lisbon glanced away from Ross, as she heard him laughing again. She continued to scowl; she wished she had her gun.

"How am I supposed to prove that you're alive though?" Ross questioned. Lisbon said nothing. "For all anybody knows, you've somehow become a victim of my ruthless ways." She could imagine the large grin across his face. "Of course, you are already a victim of my ruthless ways." She pulled her eyes away from the window again to glance at him. "I seduced you away from all that is good and you are now my prisoner for this week."

"You're incorrigible." Lisbon muttered and Ross chuckled in response.

"Yes," Ross agreed, "I am. It's one of the various reasons of why you love me." Lisbon said nothing again. "You're not even going to argue with me? I feel wounded."

"Oh, shut up." Lisbon threw and she heard Ross snicker, which made her roll her eyes. "I'm trying to sightsee."

Ross cleared his throat. "...and to our right, we have five palm trees..."

"Ross?" Lisbon interrupted him, after a moment of her staring at him in surprise.

"What?" Ross didn't glance away from the road.

"Don't."

"Don't what?"

"Give me a tour of the palm trees."

She heard him clear his throat again and she sighed; he obviously wasn't going to listen to her. "...the palm branch, which you can clearly see on the aforementioned palm trees to your right, was a symbol of triumph and victory in Roman times. They are also in the Plantae kingdom..."

Lisbon sighed, as he continued to talk about the history of palm trees; it was going to be a long day.


	4. Chapter 4

**Title: **Departure

**Disclaimer: **I don't own The Mentalist.

I honestly didn't mean to not update for months, so I'm going to make things right. I will (hopefully) have another update posted, before the end of next week. I do have this entire story planned out, which means I hope to finish it way before 2014. ;)

So much thanks to TheBrokenHeartedLamb, JulietKoike, Gray Doll, watchyouwalk, SteeleSimz, loveconquersallxxx, and tromana for the reviews! I appreciate all of them!

* * *

4—

"Room 550." Lisbon heard Ross say from behind her, while she continued to tote some of their luggage down the long Miami hotel hallway. She scanned each room number on the fifth floor, until she found room 550 at the end of the hallway. "At least we aren't near the elevator. I don't think I could have taken nights of endless chitchat."

"Why does that even matter?" Lisbon asked him, teasingly. "It's not as if you actually plan on us sleeping." Ross said nothing. "I think you forget that I know you; and because you'll have me to yourself for two whole weeks, you'll be thinking of _every _opportunity to have me." Not that she minded, though. In the past few months, their time together had been limited to a few hours for dinner, conversation and kissing, but nothing more. Work took up all of her time, while his "activities" took up his.

"You forget, my dear." Ross replied. "I left you alone last night."

She turned to face him, bags still in hand. "If you'd take the time to remember, Ross, I was angry with you last night."

"You were also concussed." Ross reminded and she rolled her eyes, before he laughed. "Well, now I know you're feeling better. You're rolling your eyes again."

"Give me the room key." She ordered, moving her luggage-free hand out to grab at the keycard in Ross's hand. Ross chuckled, shaking his head in response. "Why not?"

"You and I both know you only roll your eyes, when you don't run the risk of triggering a headache." Ross answered with a bright grin. "Ergo, you're headache free."

"Okay, Jane." Lisbon retorted dryly, as Ross handed over the keycard. She watched him laugh again. "Only you and he would use the word, _ergo_, everyone else is normal."

Ross waved her words away. "Do you sometimes want to say, "Okay, Ross" to him?" She moved to unlock their hotel room door, by swiping the cardkey into the card slot.

She opened the door, before she responded to him. "Sometimes, but then I remember; they know indirectly of you." In the five years that she and Ross had been together, Lisbon hadn't been able to confide in any of her team members about being in a relationship. While her team _was _her second family and she trusted them, she had no need (or want) for any of them to stick their noses into researching Ross.

His name was clean (a CBI background check on him four years ago had told him so). Ross Matthew Crawford, born to Diana and Andrew Crawford in 1972, was a native Californian and the oldest of six children. Ross had no speeding tickets, no outstanding warrants or overdue library books. However, she didn't trust Jane not to track Ross down and somehow deduce that he was Red John by the way he spoke or something silly like that.

Ross remained quiet; he knew, as well as she did, how much they both enjoyed keeping their secrets. It had taken a year for Ross to confess he was Red John, after he had sworn her to secrecy (and had taken her cellphone to keep her from phoning the CBI).

Of course, very few people knew Ross Crawford and Red John were one in the same person. She knew. His past inner circle had known—Craig O'Laughlin, Timothy Carter and Dumar Hardy, all of them dead now—while Jared Renfrew had just been grasping at straws for his freedom. His parents (she had met them once) believed their son to be a connoisseur of fine wines, which was why Ross kept an extensive wine collection in his cellar.

"Besides," Lisbon continued, as she wheeled the luggage into their hotel room, "it would be odd to say, "Okay, Red John" to Jane."

"He would probably have an aneurism." Ross calmly stated with a laugh and she frowned. Jane was her best friend; the very idea of him having an aneurism, no matter how much he infuriated her some days, bothered her. She felt Ross's fingers on her chin and she tilted her head to stare at him. "Love, I don't find the idea of Patrick dying from an aneurism to be funny. I'm laughing at the comparison between him and Red John, as even _you _know it to be true."

Lisbon did. Having known both of them for years, it wasn't hard to see why Red John's friends and associates always said Jane and Red John would have made great friends; both were attractive, humorous, witty, quick-thinking and intelligent men. On the other hand, they were both ill tempered, obsessive over having the upper hand in their games of cat and mouse, manipulative, frightening (when it mattered the most), and driven to accomplish some type of goal.

For Jane, it was revenge.

For Ross, it was the satisfaction of finally being smarter than his nemesis.

Ross removed his fingers from her chin and took her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Enough about Patrick, though. We have a vacation to start; and I didn't kidnap you, just so we could discuss work." Before Lisbon could snort in derision to his comment, Ross turned on the lights within their hotel room. "What do you think?"

She glanced around the spacious hotel room, hoping Ross hadn't spent _too much _money on their vacation. "I'm surprised there isn't a built-in kitchen." Lisbon heard Ross laugh from behind her, as she continued to survey the soft blue and gray walls within the room.

"Just wait until you see the next hotel room, Teresa." Ross replied and she turned her head to stare at him. "I hope this doesn't displease you, but we're not staying in Miami the entire time."

"If the next hotel room has two kitchens, I'm sleeping in the car." Lisbon said. Ross chuckled. "I'm being serious, Ross. I appreciate everything, but…"

Ross interrupted her with a smile. "I'll hide the car keys then. You're not sleeping in the car, you're sleeping with me." Lisbon opened her mouth to reply, when he continued to speak. "I know you object to spending obscenely amounts of cash on you, but you can't access your bank accounts until _after _you're found; so, please, let this be my birthday gift to me."

"Your birthday isn't for another month." Lisbon pointed out.

"And yours isn't for another eight, but that doesn't stop me from spoiling you."

"As if I could stop you, Ross. You enjoy catching me off guard."

"True." Ross responded, laughing. "And before you ask," She heard Ross's voice again, over the sound of something opening, "I'm not telling you how much I dropped for our view." Lisbon didn't glance back at him, as she abandoned their luggage and moved toward the covered balcony doors. With one hand, she pushed aside the lavender cover and stared outwards; the sight of bright blues tinted with lines of yellow and a flowing river below astounded her.

Her hands went to open the balcony doors, when she felt Ross's arms wrap around her and she leaned against him.

_I'll go out onto the balcony later_, she told herself, before she turned to face him.

"It was either this or an alleyway view and I thought we've seen enough of…"

She silenced him with a kiss, her arms wrapped around his neck, while she slipped her tongue past his soft lips. Lisbon barely felt Ross pull her closer, his hands on her hips, both of them deepening the kiss with a sudden sense of urgency and desire.

Ross said nothing, but she could feel his hands working at the button on her jeans.

"Why did anyone feel the need to invent buttons?" Ross muttered into her ear, as she tried to keep herself from chuckling. "They should be made illegal." She could feel his fingers fumbling under her waistband.

"You can do almost everything else, but you can't figure out how to undo my…" She paused at the lack of pressure against her waist and the cool air against her bare legs. "I suppose you figured it out. Congratula…"

Lisbon stopped in mid-sentence, as she felt his fingers slip beneath the waistband of her underpants and she closed her eyes at his fingers brushing against her heat. She pressed her lips against his exposed neck, kissing gently, until his fingers entered her and rubbed against her clit.

Helpless to her body's reaction she let out a low moan and arched her body into his gifted touch. Lisbon heard Ross chuckle in her ear.

"You act as if I haven't done this recently, Teresa." Ross teased, lightly. "Maybe I should stop." She felt his fingers still within her and she bit down on his neck, not amused at his idea of a joke. "Careful, love." she heard him warn. "You don't want to bite the hand that feeds you."

"Technically," Lisbon pointed out, breathlessly, "I'm biting your neck, not your hand." His brown eyes met hers. "And also you wouldn't want to deprive me of my vacation needs, now would you?" Ross said nothing. "If you do, I suppose I can always find someone else. I think our bellhop…what was his name…?"

He silenced her with a kiss and his fingers continued their previous motion, which she approved greatly of.

"You're mine, Teresa." He whispered into her ear. "You've been mine for five years. Leaving me, we both know, wouldn't be in your best interests. I'm sure you remember Walter, yes?"

She briefly frowned and swallowed down her guilt at the memory. Ross, after they both had agreed to a policy of _no more lies_, had lied to her about his kidnapping Kristina Frye. At first, she hadn't believed Jane's theory that Red John had kidnapped her (as she had thought Ross wouldn't dare lie to her, especially as he had said he valued her and their relationship). However, the finding of a receipt for a white dress had changed her mind.

When they had found Frye in a _white _dress, Lisbon had confronted him. He had called her "ridiculous" for having connected a popular dress to a pilfered receipt she had found in his vehicle and in turn, she had accused him of not loving her.

Ross had taken one look at her, _"if you don't think I love you, leave. I want nothing more to do with you, until you start acting like an adult." _

His words had angered her to the point of not speaking to him for months; his words had also made her do something completely reckless. Sleep with Walter Mashburn. Guilt still gnawed at her insides when she thought about the situation and Ross's smirk only intensified her feelings of guilt as the eccentric billionaire had seemingly dropped off the face of the planet.

"Now, Teresa." Ross interrupted her thoughts, his voice in her ear. "I'm going to show you what a good boyfriend I am," she felt a shiver down her spine at his words, before he had her pinned down on the bed and his lips pressed against hers again. She freed her hands from his grasp to undo the button on his pants, as he brushed his lips against her neck and bit into the sensitive flesh. Lisbon felt him sucking at her skin, as her own fingers pressed against his erected length of skin within his dark green silk boxers. Carefully, she massaged the length and heard him moan in response.

"And you say _you're _the good boyfriend," she teased. "It seems like I'm the only one doing the work here."

She felt Ross's hot breath in her ear. "You'll pay for that comment, my dear."

"Bring it on." Lisbon whispered into his ear, before her and Ross's eyes met again. In jest, she rolled her eyes and smiled, meeting his lips with another kiss.

* * *

In his arms and under the covers, Lisbon felt Ross's lips brush across her bare shoulder blade. She sleepily smiled, before she turned in his arms and stared at him. The lights in the room were dim, which made her glance at the digital clock beyond Ross's head.

"It's eight in the morning, already?" Lisbon asked, surprised. After they had finished last night, she hadn't _felt _tired; but that didn't mean anything. Ross nodded and she wanted to know why he hadn't tried to wake her way before eight in the morning. "Why didn't you wake me? We have…"

"For the millionth time, Teresa." Ross stated. "We're on vacation. You don't work on a vacation; you only risk the chance of being late for breakfast." She opened her mouth to argue with him. Ross had always enjoyed his schedules, which to her, meant he had to have something (scheduled) planned for the day. Instead of speaking, Ross silenced her with his hand. "I awoke you early yesterday, as we had to fly. Today, I let you sleep because I enjoy seeing you so relaxed in my arms." The easy-going smile on his face made her kiss him, briefly.

"We didn't miss breakfast, did we?" Her stomach rumbled at the slightly at the mention of food.

"I can have breakfast delivered to us. I also have a pot of coffee brewing for…" She tore the thin, white sheet off them both to wrap it around her body. "And what exactly am I supposed to wear when I call room service?"

Lisbon stared down at his naked form with a small smirk. "You mean you can't make a phone call without wearing clothes, Ross? I've never seen side of you." She turned on her heels and laughed. "Where did you put my coffee?" Vacation or not, she still needed her caffeine to function.

"It should be by the sink, in the bathroom."

"Do you want a cup?"

"Please."

With the white bed sheet wrapped around her, she poured both of them a cup. Hers, she left alone. His, she mixed a dash of sugar in. Ross would drink his coffee black, but she felt as if she owed him, especially after stealing the sheet from him.

"Thank you." She handed Ross a mug, before she sat back down on the bed and took a sip from her own. "Sugar, Teresa? I thought you disapproved of my little habit."

"I do." Lisbon gave. Before their relationship, (apparently) Ross hadn't been able to drink his coffee without adding several dashes of sugar and cream to his drink. "I'd like you to live a long time, which is why moderation is a good thing…"

"You still haven't answered my question; sugar, Teresa?"

She took another sip of her coffee. "I made you order room service with no clothing on. I'm sure that calls for some type of reward."

"How about you take that sheet off and I'll call it even, hm?" Ross said after he had set his mug down. She watched as his hands reached across the small distance to touch her skin above the white bed sheet. Lisbon lowered the sheet slightly, when they both heard someone knocking at the door. "What is it with people and their interruptions?"

"You ordered room service, Ross." Lisbon reminded him, watching. Ross stood from the bed, quickly throwing on his clothing from yesterday to answer the door. "Don't forget the tip."

"I'll give a tip, alright." She heard Ross mutter, before he disappeared from her line of sight. Lisbon merely leaned back against the headboard of their hotel bed and waited for Ross to return.

After a few minutes of muted conversation, Ross returned with a cart in tow.

"We have fruit, orange juice, yoghurt, pastries and more coffee." He answered her silent question of _"What did you order?" _on the phone. "What are you hungry for, besides me?"

Lisbon glanced at him, amusement across her face. "I wasn't aware you were even a part of my breakfast selection, Ross." She watched him roll his eyes, which made her smile. "Did you tip room service extra for that particular item?" Ross laughed. "I'll take a second cup of coffee and the strawberries though, please."

"As you wish." Ross said and she watched him pour her a second cup, before he brought out a bowl of strawberries. He brought both items to her, which she took from him with another kiss. "Now, I know you truly love me."

Lisbon bit into her first strawberry with a content sigh.

_If only every morning could be like this_, she thought, eyeing Ross as his fingers inched toward one of her strawberries.


End file.
